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It came roughly three-quarters of the way through the North Face 100 in Thailand, a
100-kilometer running event in February. Weller, who had been running since 5 a.m., passed out
along a remote jungle trail about 120 miles from Bangkok.“I was deep in the jungle; it was all up
to me,” he said, laughing.

Weller said he awoke minutes later, bleeding and with a cracked rib. Still, he finished the race
in 13 hours, 5 minutes, good for 24th out of 100 participants. He survived. He made it through the
final leg simply because he needed to reach safety — he was in the jungle with night approaching,
and he was without his headband, which held his flashlight.“That last five miles were pretty
crucial in getting to the finish line as fast I could,” he said.

Just another day in the life of an ultramarathoner.Weller, 36, runs ultramarathons, which are
classified as races longer than the traditional marathon length of 26.2 miles. It’s his way, as he
puts it, to exercise and to teach people about health and nutrition.

“A big part of what I do is to inspire,” he said.

But there is no denying that his chosen method is a little unconventional, and certainly not
easy.

Weller, a 1995 graduate of Westerville North who now resides in Miami, will be in Ohio on
Saturday to compete in the Mohican 50-mile trail run in Loudonville in Ashland County, about a
90-minute drive northeast from Columbus. It will mark his first ultramarathon in his home
state.

Weller, who didn’t run competitively in high school but was a basketball player on Westerville
North’s 1994 Division I state championship team, started running as a freshman at Ohio State, just
for fun. But after he moved to Florida, originally to become a model and later an athletic trainer,
he began to take the sport more seriously. He ran his first marathon in 2003, and his first
ultramarathon in 2010.

“As far as running, I really like the adventure of outdoors,” he said. “It’s therapeutic.”

Running an ultramarathon presents plenty of obstacles. For one, many ultramarathons are off-road
events and typically take place in exotic locations or in extreme climates, such as in Thailand or
Death Valley in California. Runners must overcome challenging terrain, humidity and temperatures
that might rise above 100 degrees. Unfamiliarity with a region presents a challenge in itself.

Ultramarathoners must pay close attention to their diet. Because a race can last a full day,
they must eat and drink while competing. And figuring out what exactly to eat and how much to eat
is tricky. Eat too little, and a runner can pass out because of a lack of nutrients. Eat too much,
and he can risk getting sick.

A vegan, Weller’s own in-race diet consists of a variety of meals, with an emphasis on
carbohydrates, calories and protein — a bean burrito with white rice, a peanut butter and jelly
sandwich, watermelon with salt and raw dates.

Before a race, he’ll eat anywhere from 600 to 800 calories in a breakfast consisting of oatmeal
and pancakes or waffles.

Weller also carries water bottles, with hand holders, typically stopping every three miles to
keep hydrated.

To help with this task, Weller’s girlfriend of nearly a year, Jennifer Pansa, typically will be
at the race site as his “crew chief,” leading a team of a couple of friends to help feed him, check
his body temperature, check his kidneys and simply ensure his safety.

“I definitely do worry about him,” Pansa, 27, said. “But I think being around him so often,
knowing his training regimen and knowing he knows what to do is so strong that I tend to worry
less.”

A big concern for ultramarathon runners is health and healing. Although conventional wisdom
suggests that runners put themselves in serious danger by running 50, 100 or 150 miles at a time,
serious injuries are rare, at least in the short term, experts suggest.

Dr. Brian Krabak, a sports medicine physician at the University of Washington Medical Center,
said that for the majority of participants, most injuries suffered are relatively minor — blisters,
tendinitis or muscle strains.

Krabak published a study in 2011 after tracking nearly 400 runners who participated in a
multiday race. Although 85 percent reported needing medical care, more than 95 percent of the
injuries were minor.One possible explanation for lower rates of serious injuries: People likely to
suffer serious health problems would never consider entering an ultramarathon in the first
place.

“The person who would get into trouble won’t get to that ultra stage,” Krabak said.

Weller has reached that ultra stage to run; to raise awareness to healthy living; to do what he
enjoys; to see the world, from Thailand to the San Francisco Bay.

“It’s like you’re a free spirit, you get to be one with nature and see the world where nothing
has been touched,” Weller said. “You get a sense of freedom.”